Queen Mary

Mary (Mary Isabella Jane; 18 February 1516 – 13 March 1745) was Queen of Graceling from 29 May 1542 until her death. Known as the Graceling era, her reign of 202 years and nine months, was longer than any of her predecessors. Underneath her reign, the Kingdom of Graceling expanded in a powerful Empire, and served to guide future generations of younger nations centuries after Mary`s death. At the time of her death, Mary, was the oldest Queen to still be sitting on the throne; she was aged 229 when she passed. In 1707, Mary signed an Act of Union which united her country with that of King Alphonsus; the two of them became the first Empress and Emperor respectively.

Mary was the daughter of Infante Alejandro, Duke of Lugo (a Prince of the Kingdom of Castile), and Queen Leonor of Dagmar (the reigning Queen of the Kingdom of Dagmar). After her father's death in 14 March 1519, Mary, was raised by her widowed mother, Queen Leonor and her mother`s two comptrollers, Princesses Fredricka Williams and Leonor Williams (the two youngest daughters of Princess Mary Williams and her husband Philip Maddison (a Victorian-era commoner). She inherited the throne aged 26 after her mother died while Mary and her were vacationing in Scotland. Though a powerful monarch, Mary was hesitant to exercise her power and held steadfast to her morals making her one of the strongest monarchs in terms of her will. Publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of national mortality, a steadfast will of steel and a façade to hide her true feelings behind so as to appear strong and undeterred in front of her people who relied on her guidance.

Mary married her ninth cousin King Alphonsus of Sutherland in 1709 (only a few years after the merging of their respective countries), and her long-time mistress, Irish Princess (Ismania). Their children mostly married commoners so as to keep magic in the Dagmarian Imperial Bloodline. Her husband had inherited hemophilia from his parents unfortunately, and their third child (Prince Edward) had inherited the disease`s rarer subtype; hemophilia B. She was an important figure of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, with her beloved Empire spiraling down into chaos after her and her beloved husband`s death due to most all of her children having died by the time of her death. None of them had wanted to rule, and they had moved out of the Empire with their husbands, only two of her daughters had survived the chaos resulting after her death; by usage of their magic, they produced a daughter, Princess Cassandra. While attempting to protect their daughter, they were hunted down and killed; subsequently the Imperial Family caught wind of her survival and she was crowned Empress Cassandra in 1784.

Birth and family
Mary`s father was Infante Alejandro, Duke of Lugo, the fourth son of the reigning King of the Spanish Kingdom of Castile. Her mother was Queen Leonor, the first daughter of the late King of the Kingdom of Dagmar and the late Queen of the Kingdom of Dagmar (a former Grand Duchess of Russia). Her siblings were Princesses Anne, Jessica, George, Nora, and Prince James. On the day of her father`s death, her niece, Princess Charlotte was born to her aunt and uncle; both of them later perished in a house fire. Infante Alejandro had been previously widowed, his previous wife (Princess Elisabeth) having died in childbirth the previous year—leaving the widowed Infante with four toddler children from his previous marriage; Jane (1510–1565), Alice (1513–1709), James "Jamie" (1515-1729), and Ella (1515-1769)—due to them being from the widowed Infante`s previous marriage, none of them could inherit the throne of Dagmar. The King and Queen of Dagmar`s eldest child, Mary, was born at 5:00 p.m. on 18 February 1516 at the Palace of Grace in Humphrey.

Mary was christened in front of an awed crowd by the Archbishop of Humphrey, Miriam Manners-Sutton, on 18 April 1516 in the Cupola Room at the Palace of Grace. She was baptised Mary after one of her godparents, Empress Mary of Vinland; Isabella after her father`s older sister, Infanta Isabella of Castile, and Jane, after her grandmother`s younger sister (Princess Jane of Dagmar). Her parents had originally wanted to name her Viktoria Elisabeth Leonora Mary Petra Graceling, but both her maternal grandparents/paternal grandparents disapproved of the combination of German names, Spanish names, and British names for their eldest granddaughter—they saw it as a disgrace to have a member of the Dagmarian Royal Family with several names and she was given the names of Mary, Isabella, and Jane (which her grandparents approved of).

At birth, Mary was first in the line of succession after her mother: Queen Leonor with all of her younger siblings filling in the spots behind her. At the age of three, her father suddenly passed due to having contracted tuberculous. Thereafter, Mary was raised by her widowed mother, growing into a fiercely independent woman. Her uncle and aunt, had a single daughter (Charlotte) who was raised alongside Mary and her siblings (full-blooded or otherwise). Charlotte`s parents had two children before Charlotte (Elizabeth and Mary); Elizabeth lived from 15 March 1509 to 29 January 1516, while Mary lived for only twelve weeks.

Early reign
Queen Leonor died in 29 May 1542; subsequently Mary ascended to the throne as Queen of the Kingdom of Graceling with her younger sister (Anne) becoming her heir presumptive. By the time, Mary, ascended to the throne on 29 May 1542, she was already aged 26. Official documents prepared on the first day of her reign described her as Mary Isabella Jane, but the names of Isabella and Jane were withdrawn at her request and never used again. Henceforth, she was then known simply as Queen Mary I of Dagmar. At the time of Mary`s ascension to the throne, looming threats pressured the young politically-savvy Queen to severe drastic measures to defend her Kingdom. The more aggressive Avalonians threatened the more pacifist Cimmerians and Dagmar itself, Mary deployed the Royal Army, Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force to great effect and managed to stall the Avalonians long-enough for their allies to arrive and drive off Avalon`s military.

At the start of her reign Mary was popular, but her reputation as well as her honor, were tarnished by a 1547 court rumor when one of her younger sister Anne`s ladies-in-waiting, Lady Petunia Hasting, developed an abdominal growth that was widely rumoured to be an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by her half-brother, James. Mary was furious and accused the ladies who spread the rumor of trying to smear the name of Petunia, and her two siblings (Anne and James); Petunia was a favourite of the young Queen Mary, while Anne and James were her two of her most favoured siblings (as both of them were incredibly close with Queen Mary). The common people became disgusted with the ladies-in-waiting for trying to smear the name of Queen Mary, Lady Petunia, Princess Anne, and Prince James "Jamie". When Lady Petunia died in childbirth in late July of that year, Queen Mary, was horribly devastated and refused to take on another romantic partner until she married. The Irish Princess, Ismania, became a companion to Queen Mary and later on a romantic partner; the two had two children, Peter and Petra who were legitimized soon after their birth.

Marriage
Queen Mary (having no living male relatives, excluding her two brothers) lived with her entire family in the Palace of Grace in Humphrey (the exact place where she was born). The young Queen was content with not having a husband (as Ismania) had given her two heirs (Peter and Petra). Her ministers were less happy and called the birth of the heirs as "shocking" and "completely indecent". However they saw the value of Queen Mary having a concubine in the Irish Princess, purely for the sake of having an heir; the birth of Peter and Petra ensured the royal lineage before the two of them suddenly died from being murdered in their sleep. Mary was devastated and Ismania was horrified blaming the anti-Irish Minister, Benjamin of the crime of murdering her children; Benjamin was investigated and found guilty of murdering the heirs. He was later executed and Queen Mary decided to marry Ismania and another person in a televised wedding which would shown in all of the Mythical Nations; her ministers agreed. Unexectably, King Alphonsus of Sutherland proposed to both the Queen and Ismania on the death of Mary`s father, Mary and Ismania accepted the proposal and their proposal party was attended by dignitaries from around the world, including the reigning Queen of England, Anne, and her consort (Prince George of Denmark). On 19 March 1709, they were married in a large televised wedding with foreign dignitaries, and Mary`s two consorts gave their first speeches in front of a crowd with Queen Mary watching them in silence.

Both of Mary`s consorts were important political figures, with only Ismania surviving the civil war that erupted after Mary and Alphonsus`s deaths, with Ismania going on to oversee the education of Mary`s successor (Cassandra); out of her two consorts, Mary favoured Ismania more (due to having known her the longest), though she also fiercely loved and adored Alphonsus. To Mary, Ismania was described as "domineering, fierce, and just. A true warrior princess of Ireland", while Alphonsus was described as "gentle, kind-hearted, and very compassionate. A romantic at his core". Due to Mary`s fierce love and loyalty towards both her country as well as her two consorts, many people sought to manipulate Mary by using her consorts; unfortunately for them, both of her consorts were less pleased at being used as tools and made their feelings known to Mary.

During Ismania`s first pregnancy after getting married, in the first few months of the marriage, 16-year-old Hilda Dachu attempted to assassinate her while she was riding in a carriage with Queen Mary, and King Alphonsus on her way to visit Alphonsus`s mother. Dachu fired twice, with both bullets missing Queen Mary and King Alphonsus, with one of the bullets striking Princess Ismania in the shoulder much to the horror of the witnesses. The other bullet struck her right cheek, slightly grazing it and causing her to bleed from a skin-deep wound on her cheek. Dachu was tackled down by members of the crowd, and Princess Ismania still shocked by the assassination attempt fainted in Mary`s arms. Mary was infuriated and called for Dachu`s death due to daring to injuring a member of the Imperial Family, her ministers were less hesitant to issue such an order. She was sent to St. Jude`s Mental Asylum due to having several mental disorders, with Princess Ismania being relieved by the prospect of not being attacked again. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, their popularity soared. Ismania gave birth to three children (between her and Mary); (Princess Anne, Princess Isobel, and Prince Edward), while Mary gave birth to seven children (between her and Alphonsus); (Princess Penelope, Princess Erina, Princess Erika, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Alice, Princess Helena, and Prince Sigurd). Between Alphonsus and Ismania, they had four children; (Prince Peter, Princess Petra, Prince Derick, and Princess August). The Queen hated being pregnant, but adored her children though she considered to be her "treasures" which she called more precious than "anything money can buy".

Mary`s household was largely run by her female consort, Princess Ismania from Ireland. Ismania had been a formative influence on Mary, a childhood companion/friend, and later on a concubine, yet Mary relied on her to a dangerous extent. Alphonsus referred to her as a "warrior goddess" and described her as "incredibly protective, kind, and compassionate to a fault" in his diary entries.

1729–1745
On 29 May 1729, Mary was riding in a carriage through Trafalgar, Cecilia-Yorkshire, when Jamie Lancaster aimed a pistol at her, but the gun jammed. The assailant escaped; however the following day, Mary rode the same route, though faster and with a greater escort, in a deliberate attempt to provoke her attacker into taking another shot at her. Jamie shot at her again, with Mary`s steed becoming spooked by the noise and bucking her off; Lancaster was seized by policemen and soldiers who had been accompanying Mary, while Ismania grabbed the reins of her spooked steed and handed her off to Mary to calm down. On 3 July, three days after Lancaster`s death sentence had been changed to transportation for life, Jackeline Johanna Bean tried to hit the Queen and Princess Ismania with a riding crop. Bean was seized and jailed for attempted manslaughter as both Queen Mary and Princess Ismania had been pregnant at the time. In an similar attack in 1730, unemployed Irishman Will Hamilton fired a powder-filled pistol at Mary`s carriage as it passed along Constitution Hill, London. In 1733, the Queen did sustain injury when she was assaulted by a possibly insane noble, Francis Pate (the great-granduncle of the future Robert Pate). As Mary was riding in a carriage, Pate struck her with his cane, crushing her bonnet and badly her forehead. He was immediately arrested and Mary called for his immediate excommunication from the Empire, infuriated by being the subject of several assassination attempts over the past few years alone.

In 1744, Victoria was hit by a potato blight which encompassed the entire country including the Zelda Islands (part of Dagmar), which distressed Queen Mary greatly. Her ministers refused to aid her people (mostly out off greed and them focusing only on themselves) and Queen Mary jailed all of them for incompetency, money-laundering, and general selfishness. She used her own magic to restore the natural resources of the Zelda Islands and Victoria by herself, and became labeled "The Savior Queen".

Death
On 13 March 1745, at half past two in the afternoon Queen Mary died at the age of 229 (several hours before her husband). Princess Anne, Princess Isobel, Prince Edward, Princess Penelope, Princess Erina, Princess Erika, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Alice, Princess Helena, Prince Sigurd, Prince Peter, Princess Petra, Prince Derick, and Princess August (her many children), Princess Ismania and King Alphonsus (her two consorts), Infanta Ella of Castile (her older half-sister), Princesses Anne, Jessica, George, Nora and Prince James (her younger siblings), and Princess Charlotte (her niece) all stood in attendance at her deathbed. Her pet dog, Frodo, was laid upon her deathbed as a last request. Her husband died at midnight, and was dressed in black clothes.

On 25 January, Anne, Isobel, and Edward, helped lift her body into the coffin (due to them being the strongest members of the Imperial Family). She was dressed in a emerald dress with her traditional cornet resting on her clasped hands. The Imperial State Crown, Coronation Orb, and her gloves were additionally placed on her coffin; an exhibit was opened depicting Queen Mary, King Alphonsus, Princess Ismania, and the storied history of the Imperial Family which drew many royal visitors. Her funeral was held on 2 February 1746, in St Augusta`s Chapel, Palace of Grace, and after two days of lying-in-state, she was interred beside Queen Leonor and Infante Alejandro (her mother and father respectively). Her husband, King Alphonsus was also interred beside her and her late parents in the same ceremony.

With a reign of 202 years, nine months, and 14 days, Mary was the longest-reigning Graceling monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history. She was the last Dagmarian monarch from the House of Graceling. Her grandniece and successor Cassandra belonged to her husband's House of Andros.

Legacy
According to her grandniece, Empress Cassandra, Mary was an avid Equestrian rider and a skilled archer from the time that she was a young girl. In one of Queen Leonor`s journals, Mary is described as "rough and tumble. She tumbles about with nary a penny to her thoughts. Truly worrisome". In one of her correspondent letters to the new Empress Cassandra, Mary`s only surviving consort (Imperial Princess Ismania) mentioned that "Mary was always a rough and tumble person. You remind me of sweet Mary. May her soul rest in peace". Members of Mary`s Imperial Household described her (during her life) as "stubborn", "viciously-smart" and incredibly quick-witted in situations of great peril. Mary was physically attractive, despite her slim, thin, and petite body; she was incredibly dangerous in close-quarters combat with a bow, able to hit critical arteries in the human body at that range. Her legs were also reputed to be as "strong as steel" and "tough as iron" to the people who engaged her in battle. Her face was always covered in shadows to foreign leaders, with only citizens of her country being allowed to see her face; this made her appear regal and strong to her citizens. Visitors to the Imperial Court described Queen Empress (later Empress Mary) as one of the strongest and more resilient rulers they had ever met. Others who populated Mary`s court, describe the Queen as truthful, a skilled warrior (especially in archery), and an incredibly skilled Equestrian. Contrary to popular belief, her staff and family recorded that Mary "was immensely amused by her consorts and roared with laughter" when they did something amusing.

Descendants
Mary`s links to her father`s native Kingdom of Castile earned her the nickname of "the grandmother of Castile". Of the 79 grandchildren of Mary, Ismania, and Alphonsus, 39 survived to adulthood. Their living descendants include Hilda II; Princess August, Duchess of Devora; Kendrix I of Norway; Ingeborg XVI Victoria of Dagmar; Margrethe I of Norway; and Anne VI of Norway.

Mary`s eldest son, Edward, was affected by the blood-clotting disease haemophilia B and both of her late children (who had been conceived between her and her then-mistress, Ismania) were carriers. Imperial hemophiliacs descended from Mary included her one great-grandson and her two great-granddaughters, Alexei Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Sutherland; Princess Mina of Akishino; and Infanta María of Spain. Due to her father, Infante Alejandro being a hemophilic himself, the presence of the disease appeared in both her descendants as well as her ancestors. Mary herself, showed no sign of having inherited the disease so it is speculated that both of her consorts must have had the disease; that possibly is highly unlikely as the disease didn`t appear in any of their family trees. It is more likely that the mutation arose spontaneously because Mary`s father was over 50 at the time of her conception and haemophilia arises more frequently in the children of older fathers.

Titles and styles
At the end of her reign, the Queen`s full style was "Her Imperial Majesty, by the Grace of God, of the Empire of Dagmar and Sutherland Empress, Defender of the Faith, Ally of Castile."
 * 18 February 1516 – 29 May 1542: Her Royal Highness Princess Mary Isabella Jane of Dagmar
 * 29 May 1542 – 19 March 1709: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of Dagmar and Sutherland

Graceling honours

 * Royal Family Order of Queen Leonor, 1519
 * Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the late Queen Leonor, 25 June 1542
 * Founder and Sovereign of the Imperial Red Cross, 25 June 1549
 * Founder and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Mary, Ismania, and Alphonsus, 10 February 1714

Quotes

 * (To grandchildren) "See this Empire? This is the future you will inherit from your parents, and the future your parents will inherit from me."
 * (To Ismania) "The title consort is inappropriate for you, as is concubine. The title Imperial Princess however, is much more suiting to your status as my spouse. Henceforth, I do declare that you shall be known as Princess Ismania, Imperial Princess of Dagmar and Sutherland!"
 * (To Edward) "You will do great things my son." 

Trivia

 * In most biographies of Queen Mary, she is called Queen Mary for the entire book but that is technically incorrect as she became an Empress in 1707 (when Sutherland and Graceling united together to form the Dagmar Empire). Henceforth after 1707, she would be technically addressed as "Empress Mary".
 * She had Castilian ancestry (due to her father) and is half Spanish due to her father being Spanish.
 * During life, she had green eyes (the same color as her great-grandniece, Cassandra).
 * Her favourite foods were honeyed pewter bread (made from a mixture of wheat flour and barley flour mixture; honey was smeared all over the dough), Apollonese cheese (named after the Greek God Apollo), and chocolate chip cookies.
 * Her theme song is Feel Invincible by Skillet, with her battle theme song being Unbreakable by Fireflight.